Sunday, January 22, 2006

Sunday socks

We've got a couple more socks to show y'all, but first let me answer a couple of questions. 1. No, you do not have to sign up each month. Once you're signed up and on the sidebar, you are in for the whole shebang. The 20th of the month cut-off is for new signees only. 2. Sadly, baby booties, slippers, etc. are not going to count for thing knit-along. My criteria is going to be that it's something where you had to turn a heel (classic or short row - I think you know where I'm going with this). Baby socks and fuzzy feet will count, since they have the classic sock structure. If you have any questions about whether something will count, please ask.

Now for the updates...

Silvia finished up some lovely pink striped socks for her daughter, and is halfway through another pair for herself with some awesome Kool-aid dyed yarn.

Check out Sheri's Socka toddler socks. Those are some cute little feet on a cute little guy!

For those of you who want to get in on the Sockapaloooza craziness, sign-ups start on Tuesday at 12:01 EST. That rocks for those of us on the west coast because it's 9 pm on Monday night! I'll be trying to sign up as soon as my knitting mommies leave, although I have a feeling it will be like trying to get concert tickets on Ticketmaster right when they go on sale...refresh, refresh, refresh...

Thanks for all your support re my designing woes. I keep thinking that self-publishing might be the way to go. If I ever get Sydney's sweater back from Creative Knitting, I'm definitely going to put that up for sale on the website because it has gotten such a positive reaction from everyone I've showed it to. There are a few other options as well, like The Knitting Vault and Chiagu. Self-publishing is definitely a greater risk, because you could end up spending money to produce a pattern that nobody buys. But the potential for reward is also much greater if you have a pattern that really takes off. And all deadlines would be self-imposed, which would be helpful with the small ones around.

I've also started on the Nutrisystem diet. I've decided that I need to lose this baby weight (that I've had since being pregnant with Sydney) once and for all. I'm not good at all with diets or cooking, so this is perfect for me since everything is prepackaged and involves little preparation. It's actually pretty good, too! It is helping me with the main things I always have trouble with, which are cooking, portion control and knowing what to eat. It's pretty idiot-proof. And Bill is delighted to not have to cook for me anymore. And he's happy that he no longer gets home from work to find me starving to death because I haven't eating anything all day. I'll let you know how it goes! After all, that woman from Joe Millionaire went from a size 10 to a size 4 in just two months*! *Results not typical...

11 Comments:

Oh, thank GOD you mentioned the Sockapaloooza time zone difference!!! I was just sitting here wondering how I was going to remember to stay up until midnight. Duh. :) Hooray, hooray, hooray for living on the west coast!

Re the self-publishing: I wouldn't think that knitting patterns would cost very much to produce (but what do I know?)--unless you're talking about the yarn, etc. to use when designing a sweater. I originally assumed you just meant producing the actual paper pattern. . . I'm sure there's more to it than that. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. ;)It seems like there is a huge online community that would be clamoring over your patterns which, in turn, might lead to more requests from magazines, etc. I don't know how much designers are paid per design, but I wonder if a LYS or two would be interested in selling your patterns?Okay, I'm starting to feel like this is getting sort of disjointed, so I'm going to stop. *grin*Have a great weekend!

I've been struggling with some of the same issues, although I think I'm behind you on the designing journey. I've thought about just selling my patterns on my own site, and then hopefully branching out from there.

Thanks for the clarification about the socks. I'm planning on making socks for my 3 and 1 year old and was wondering if they would count.

If you don't already have the means to print .pdf files let me know - I have an inexpensive program that works very well.

Good luck on Nutrisystem - I'm sure you will do great! I must say, though, every time I see that commercial with Zorah (yeah, I watched Joe Millionaire - what of it? ;o) ) I get PISSED OFF because she wasn't fat to begin with but she whined about being 'fat' all through the damned show. I highly doubt she was a 10...blah, blah blah I could go on forever so I'll shut up now ;o)

Self-publishing sounds like a way cool idea. You'd be in-charge all the way and I know people would definitely buy your patterns... I would! What if you did zipped pattern files that you send online? Would that help with the cost? Then there'd be no printing cost, at least. Anyway, I think it's a great idea! And I'm all for any system where you don't have to think or cook. ;-) I think you look fab the way you are, but not having to cook would be the cincher for me, too. ;-) Take care! :-)

Good luck with the diet. Portion sizes have always been my problem too. After each baby, I would weight things out for a few months to get me back in the habit of eating "right". It's amazing how small actual portions are. And Bill cooks for you? What a guy!

good thing you mentioned the criteria for the socks...! i was about to start on some booties for my niece just to get that "J" by my name. instant gratification's looking more and more attractive these days!look at those sock KAL-ers go! they're rolling! i am so like, slow and / or distracted. i have to stop sabotaging myself with multiple projects! just gotta git 'er done, as they say!i agree that self-publishing is the way to go for you. i believe if you plan it cost-effectively, you'll be efficient with all of your production costs so that the only thing you'd be losing is time. you're obviously good at networking and follow-through in your dealings with design publishers, so i really think the self-publishing route would really just be a pacesetter for you. that's going to come in handy in the long run since you've got two little kiddies; once they're both in school, you'll already have a system by then and you can focus on fine-tuning the business to your needs. baby steps ;)i wish you so much success in all of your endeavors! i mean, you deserve to succeed in anything you do, and i know you will! and how cool is Bill!? he cooks!

I keep forgetting to send you links to my January socks.I finished a pair each for our two boys here: http://knittingiris.typepad.com/knitting_iris/2006/01/spotty_socks.htmlAnd another pair I just realized that I finished the first couple days of the new year:http://knittingiris.typepad.com/knitting_iris/2006/01/new.htmlThanks again for hosting this.It's a rare thing for me not to have ANY socks on the needles. I haven't even begun to think of a pair I'd like to knit for February yet!

About Me

Welcome to the wild & wooly world of knitwear designer Chrissy Gardiner. I'm a mom of two who spends as much time as possible knitting and designing knitting patterns. I have been published in various books and magazines as well as printing my own pattern line, Gardiner Yarn Works. I published my first book, Toe-Up!, in the summer of 2009. It's about socks, of course!